Rivers of a lost coast

We just made friends with these guys through Facebook and I must say they had me at "and he pulls out a gun and he shoots the salmon."

So new their website isn't up and running yet Skinny Fist Productions has a new documentary about the early years of fly fishing for steelhead on California's North coast.

At the turn of the 20th century a handful of pioneers carried their fly rods into California’s remote north coast and gave birth to a culture that would revolutionize their sport. For a select few, steelhead fly fishing became an obsessive pursuit without compromise.

Leading the pack was the mythical, Bill Schaadt, an off-kilter angler famous for his ruthless pursuit to be “in the fish”. The new endeavor was littered with unchecked passions and bitter tears, where the last thing you did was bring someone new to the party.

By the early 1980’s the Golden State’s coastal fisheries found themselves caught in a spiraling decline. As California searched for it’s disappearing salmon and steelhead, these men foraged for their souls.

I couldn't get the trailer to embed in this post so here is a link via their Myspace page:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44591498

Bonus points for narration by Tom Skerritt. He's that guy from the famous movie... Top Gun

Buff To Sponsor the Save Wild Steelhead Festival

Buff Headwear today announced sponsorship of the Save Wild Steelhead Festival in Bozeman, Montana.

Buff® Headwear, known for their innovative, versatile and multifunctional headwear, will be providing custom Save Wild Steelhead UV Buff® head and neckwear to the Save Wild Steelhead Festival on November 5, 2008 at the Emerson Cultural Center in Bozeman, Montana. Additionally, Buff® is slated as a hosting sponsor with proceeds benefiting Trout Unlimited and the Wild Steelhead Coalition non-profit organizations.

“We are proud to sponsor the Save Wild Steelhead Festival and contribute to such a unique, environmental cause. Buff resonates so well in the angling market and we are so happy to take part in the action,” says Shirley Choi Brunetti, United States general manager. The Save Wild Steelhead Festival http://www.flyboysfishing.com/conservation/save-wild-steelhead is a fundraising event focused on uniting anglers, filmmakers, photographers and conservation groups to bolster awareness and education around influential issues regarding wild steelhead. Wild Steelhead are one of the most valued freshwater game fish on the planet and wild stocks are at an all-time low. The festival will be composed of documentary films, slide show presentations, guest speakers, and raffles. All proceeds generated at the event will go to Trout Unlimited and the Wild Steelhead Coalition.

“With this event we hope to have a profound impact on the future of wild steelhead. For it is up to us to save these fish and this sport for future generations,” says Joshua Brandner, event coordinator, Fly Boys Fishing Team.

Buff will donate 80 custom Save Wild Steelhead UV Buff® samples. The UV Buff® protects against 95-percent of damaging UV rays and can be worn over 12 different styles. The UV Buff® is made from CoolMax® fabric that provides moisture wicking and dry comfort properties to keep you warm in cold climates and cool and dry in warmer climates.

Editor's note: Keep an eye out for more information about Buff products. We are currently working on reviews of several Buff products as part of an upcoming series on cold weather gear designed for anglers. The temps around these parts are finally getting cold enough for a proper field test.

Want places to fish? Send Fruit!

GoErie.com reports about an effort by anglers to say thanks to landowners who allow public fishing access in the state's steelhead water.

A cooperative effort between Gem City Outdoorsmen Club/Fly-Tiers, Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association distributed 40 fruit baskets to various families who own land along the steelhead creeks as a way of showing their appreciation for allowing fishing on their lands.

"They were fruit baskets, they had all different kind of fruit, nuts, grapes," said Jim Sharpe, a director of the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association. "They were $26 apiece for the baskets. We bought 40 baskets. And what we did was deliver them to landowners that have property along all the tributaries, every tributary. What we did this year was try to hit the spots that got the most angler coverage."

Saying thank you to land owners (in addition to picking up trash and respecting their property) is an excellent idea that can go a long way towards keeping streams open to public fishing.

Judge Says Hatchery & Wild Fish Differ

From the Duh huh file and the Oregon Statesman Journal comes the word that a Judge has declared hatchery and wild trout to be different. This tidbit of info might not be news to anyone who has ever caught a six inch native brookie in a tiny mountain stream but it is news to the current administration who wanted to count stocked fish towards endangered species listing.

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, sitting in Seattle, on Wednesday struck down a Bush administration decision to consider hatchery salmon with their wild counterparts in determining whether certain runs need Endangered Species Act protection.

FYI - The above trout with its pale colors and mangled fins is one of the hatchery raised variety.

Gulls Gone Wild

It seems a rogue band of Seagulls is wreaking havoc on efforts to restore steelhead and salmon in California. Scientist know this from a thorough examination of gull crap.

Morris traced the chip to Morgan Bond and Sean Hayes of the Salmon Ecology Team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries lab in Santa Cruz. They had been planting the chips in hatchery-raised salmon to track their progress from creeks to the open ocean. The salmon team went to the island and recovered about 60 tags, some as recently as last week. "Our suspicion is that it's sea gulls doing more of the eating," said Bond.

Of course further study will be necessary to determine how the trout tags got into the gull crap.

Hayes and Bond now hope to raise money to study whether gulls in fact are eating the salmon and steelhead before they leave creeks.

I suggest a simpler perhaps less costly approach, although it is probably not very politically correct: Gull Season!